The role of the media in society: the effects of responsible and irresponsible journalism on the public

Alert:

Please note that this course has started and enrolment is no longer possible.

This course will offer some reflection on the power of media to influence people’s everyday life and will encourage students to take a critical perspective on the media. It will provide an overview of the reasons for which journalists favour certain news and discard others, and for quality journalism sometimes losing out to irresponsible journalism, banal news, or celebrity news.

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Course details

Course programme

You are welcome to arrive at any time during the morning, but please note that you will only be able to check in to bedrooms after lunch. The reception team are happy to assist in storing your bags.

07:30 Breakfast10:00 Quality journalism: do people want information or entertainment?12:00 Lunch13:30From print to online news: are we better informed now?15:30 Close

Tutor

Dr Sonia Parratt was awarded a European PhD in Journalism by the University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain). She is currently a full time professor at the Faculty of Information Sciences at Complutense University of Madrid, where she teaches on subjects related to news writing. Although her general area of expertise is news writing and reporting, she is also specialised in environmental journalism, since she worked as an environmental journalist before taking up her academic career. Her interest in making connections with foreign universities began when she spent an academic year at the University Nova de Lisboa (Portugal), under the EU Erasmus programme. Later on she did some research at Southampton Institute (UK) in order to complete her doctorate. Since then, she has given lectures at Cornell University (USA), Southampton Institute, University of La Sapienza (Italy), and University of Faro (Portugal). Her areas of research include journalistic genres, the analysis of the contents of the press, literary journalism, and environmental journalism.

Entry requirements

No academic qualification is required of applicants, and most courses are suitable for students who are new to the subject.

All teaching is in English (unless a foreign-language course). If your first language is not English, you need to satisfy yourself that you have the required near-native command of the language to get the maximum benefit from studying with ICE.

A booklist, course syllabus and detailed timetable are circulated as far as possible in advance of a course. You will receive these documents by email if you have provided us with your email address; please check your spam folder if you have not received these documents. You can also download material from the course web page.

Fees

Fees cover tuition, meals (except breakfast) and refreshments, including morning coffee and afternoon tea during teaching hours, and travel on excursions (but not entrance fees to properties visited). Accommodation can be booked for an additional fee and includes breakfast.

VAT does not apply to course fees and there is no service charge (gratuities to domestic staff are left to your discretion). It is sometimes possible to stay for extra nights or extra meals, or to invite guests to meals, at an additional cost and by prior arrangement with the Admissions team.

If you do not wish to pay in full at the time of booking, you may pay a 15% registration fee as a deposit by credit/debit card. The balance will automatically be taken two weeks before the start of the course. If you wish to pay by cheque, you will need to pay in full when the booking is made.

You may cancel a course booking at any time. After the 14 day cancellation period has expired, the standard ICE course cancellation policy will apply. Please view our refund and cancellation policy for further details.

Venue

About Madingley Hall

Madingley Hall itself is an impressive manor house dating back to the mid-16th century. The decoration of the Saloon and the formal Stair Hall was carried out 200 years later, and the whole fabric was renovated with great care around 1900. About four miles from the centre of Cambridge, the Hall stands in several acres of beautifully-maintained gardens and overlooks a landscape which has changed relatively little since it was laid out by Capability Brown. It is just four miles from the centre of Cambridge, and only 60 minutes from London, with excellent links to London airports.

Documents

Unless otherwise stated, teaching and assessment for ICE courses are in English. Students whose first language is not English should refer to the Competence in the English Language Policy for further guidance.

Printable versions of our brochures are available to download from the Institute Publications page.